Beatles News
There are stories behind many of the songs that Paul McCartney wrote for The Beatles in their heyday. Some songs lack any story whatsoever, but a few tracks were inspired by real-life events and experiences. Let’s take a look at just four examples! These songs are worth revisiting anyway.
1. “When I’m Sixty-Four”
“When I’m Sixty-Four” from the 1967 album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band was one of the very first songs that Paul McCartney ever wrote as a teenager. It’s a testament to his songwriting talent, but there’s also a darker theme lurking in the background of this music hall classic.
“When I’m Sixty-Four” is all about aging and mortality, and there are two different rumored stories that inspired this song: One being that McCartney’s father turned 64 the year he revisited “When I’m Sixty-Four” for the 1967 album, the other being that 64 was widely believed to be the life expectancy of British people at the time McCartney wrote it.
2. “Got To Get You Into My Life”
Source: Em Casalena/americansongwriter.com
In just eight years together as a band, The Beatles recorded thirteen studio albums - including seven from 1963 to 1966. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and George Harrison were prolific in the early days, delivering record after record to their legions of fans.
However, they slowed down somewhat in the second half of the 1960s as their sound evolved. They stopped performing live in 1966 and that year's album 'Revolver' saw The Beatles move further away from their early style, using more studio technology and innovating with a new approach.
The following year the band released their eighth studio album, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' - amid the 'summer of love'. It is arguably their most iconic work, capturing the counterculture movement, with Peter Blake and Jann Haworth's cover art one of the Fab Four's defining images.
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
For all of their promise, the Beatles' journey as solo acts was dotted with potholes.
George Harrison came roaring into the '70s, quickly releasing two chart-topping post-breakup albums and three Top singles – topped by the No. 1 smash "My Sweet Lord." Ringo Starr struck platinum with 1973's Ringo and reeled off four straight Top 10 songs, including a pair of No. 1 hits.
Meanwhile, former bandmate Paul McCartney was already experiencing the kind of ups (1971's Ram) and downs (Wild Life, also from 1971) that would define his career away from the Beatles. Similarly, John Lennon followed up his biggest-selling solo LP (1971's Imagine) with one of his most poorly received albums.
McCartney would ultimately outsell them all, while Starr suffered the most dramatic solo career setbacks. Lennon's and then Harrison's careers were cut short when they died too early.
At one point, Starr was actually without a label after being dropped by RCA following a string of duds in the late '70s. But he ended up becoming the most productive of all of his former bandmates, regularly issuing albums and EPs after the turn of the century.
When they were together, the Beatles seemed to metronomically release one creative triumph after another. The same couldn't always be said of their solo records, even the hits. As you'll see in the following list of 25 Worst Beatles Solo Albums, each of them stumbled (sometimes badly) without the friction and spark that defined their former group's successes.
Source: Nick DeRiso/ultimateclassicrock.com
On November 8, 2024, the Beatles were once again making history in the music industry. For the first time since 1997, the band was shortlisted for the Grammys, bringing their lifetime nomination count to 25 (seven of which they've won). However, that wasn't the only reason the group was making headlines.
Hailed as 'the last Beatles song,' 2023's "Now and Then" was nominated in both Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance award categories, but more importantly, it was the first AI-assisted song to receive a Grammy nomination.
To purists, this was sacrilege, with AI's bubbling influence on the music industry viewed as a growing stain by many.
However, to the remaining members of the Beatles, AI allowed them to see out the final chapter of a decades-long journey to honor the memory of their friend and bandmate, John Lennon.
In a short documentary released alongside the track, Sir Paul McCartney ponders the ethical dilemma out loud, "Is it something we shouldn't do?"
"Let's say I had the chance to ask John, 'Hey John, would you like us to finish this last song of yours?' I'm telling you. I know the answer would've been 'Yeah!' He would've loved that."
It's easy to paint AI as a threat to the future of music. However, despite its controversy, "Now and Then" hints at the potential for a harmonious path forward for AI and artists.
Source:Yahoo
Fans of The Beatles were out in full force for Record Store Day Black Friday.
Billboard reports that the Fab Four’s “I Want To Hold Your Hand”/”I Saw Her Standing There” 7-inch vinyl was the top-selling single on Record Store Day Black Friday, while the 3-inch vinyl release of “All My Loving” came in at #5.
Stevie Nicks also had one of the bestselling singles, with the white-colored 7-inch vinyl of her latest single, “The Lighthouse,” landing at #3 behind Pearl Jam's "Waiting for Stevie (Live)"/"Wreckage (Live)" vinyl.
U2 was also a big draw at independent record stores, with the How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb black and red colored vinyl the sixth-bestselling album on Record Store Day. Van Halen’s Live in Dallas 1981 on red colored double vinyl was #8, the Ramones’ Greatest Hits on red colored vinyl was #9 and the Grateful Dead’s four-vinyl LP set, Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT 5/5/77, was #10.
Source: Jill Lances/rock107.com
Paul McCartney reflects on John Lennon meeting Yoko Ono. Paul McCartney may be one of the most beloved figures in music, but even the Beatles legend hasn’t escaped his share of high-profile feuds.
From strained friendships to public spats, McCartney’s decades-long career has been as eventful off stage as it has been on. We’re delving into some of the most shocking fallouts that rocked Hollywood and the music world alike.
From his now-infamous disagreement with Michael Jackson over music publishing rights to the fiery exchanges with his fellow Beatles bandmate John Lennon, McCartney has often found himself at the centre of drama.
And it’s not just within the music industry – his run-in with actor Alec Baldwin over a heated yoga studio incident raised eyebrows in Tinseltown. Add his historically icy relationship with Yoko Ono into the mix, and it’s clear McCartney’s charm hasn’t always been enough to smooth things over.
As the Yesterday star prepares to bring his highly anticipated Got Back Tour to the UK with two shows each in London and Manchester, it marks the Beatles legend’s first UK concerts since 2018—excluding his iconic Glastonbury headline set in 2022.
With excitement building for his return, let’s delve into some of Paul McCartney’s most infamous feuds that have kept fans and tabloids talking for decades.
Source: Frankie Collins/express.co.uk
The vinyl is one of only 50 in existence. Tony Quinn, The Musical Box. The Salvation Army’s Strawberry Field in Liverpool has unveiled a rare, limited edition vinyl acetate of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s iconic single, ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’.
A rare John Lennon vinyl is being displayed in a famous Beatles location in Liverpool. Strawberry Field has unveiled a limited edition of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s 1971 single, ‘Happy Xmas (War is Over)’, which is one of only 50 in existence.
The record is on loan from The Musical Box in Tuebrook - the oldest independent record shop in England - to help raise money for Strawberry Field’s Steps to Work programme. It was gifted to the record store by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon in 2021 and is one of 50 limited edition acetates sent to record stores and charities to celebrate the song’s 50th anniversary.
Independently owned and operated by the same family since 1947, The Musical Box holds a special place in music history, having been regularly visited by John Lennon and original Beatles drummer, Pete Best. Celebrating its 77th anniversary in 2024, the shop is run by third-generation owner, Tony Quinn, alongside his wife Paula and son Craig.
Source: Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
Sir Paul McCartney gets "very emotional" whenever he performs 'Now and Then'.
The 82-year-old music legend was part of the Beatles alongside John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr - who is the only other surviving member of the group - and after he released the AI-assisted track as the band's "last" official release , he has included it on all of his tours but can become teary throughout because it was originally composed by his late bandmate.
He told The Daily Mirror: "It's really great. When you introduce a new song, even though it's an old song, like 'Now and Then', the first reaction is, people aren't quite sure what it is or what you're doing.
"But during the run of the concerts, they get the idea. The word gets out on the internet, you know. So now the reaction is really strong, and for us it's great to play because it's a nice song to play, and for me, it's particularly great because it's a John song.
"And so it's very emotional for me. I love it. I love doing it, and the audience seem to love it too."
The track - which has now been nominated for two Grammy Awards - is a demo recorded by Lennon - who was killed in December 1980 at the age of just 40 - in the wake of The Beatles break-up.
It features his voice and him playing the piano at his Dakota building apartment in New York.
Source: BANG Showbiz/uk.news.yahoo.com
Sir Paul McCartney wants to take the audience by surprise and "prove them wrong" when the UK leg of his world tour begins on Saturday. The Walton-born Beatles legend, 82, has been on the road since October, playing huge gigs on his 'Got Back' tour in South America and Europe.
He will play two sold-out nights at Manchester's Co-op Live this weekend, before moving onto London's The O2. They will be Sir Paul's first gigs in the UK since his Glastonbury headline set in 2022 and he wants to keep an element of surprise to the shows.
About the Manchester concerts, Sir Paul told the Mirror: "On the first night we can pull some surprises, but then the minute that gets on social media. It’s like the old comedians who used to complain that their jokes got told, so the next people who saw them knew the jokes.
Source: Mark Jefferies, Dan Haygarth/liverpoolecho.co.uk
Sixty years after the Beatles’s first U.S. visit, the rock band still holds Billboard’s record for most No.1 songs on the Hot 100 chart and the record for most No.1 albums (19) in the history of Billboard’s tracking.
And sixty years later, there is still behind-the-scenes footage of that two-week visit in February 1964 that has not been widely seen. Now, it is available on Disney+. The documentary Beatles '64, produced by Martin Scorsese, restores rare footage of the rock stars Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, and their adoring—screaming—fans, which was filmed by documentarians Albert and David Maysles.
Much of the rarely seen footage involves the Beatles relaxing in between a frenetic schedule of radio, TV, and concert appearances. Viewers will see McCartney feeding seagulls bread out a window, and Harrison drinking a glass of water and strumming on a guitar. In one bit, Harrison is lying in the overhead compartment of a train.
“It’s so new to them, this level of success. They love it,” says Beatles '64 Director David Tedeschi. “They're having the time of their lives because they've dreamed about this for many years.”
Filming coincided with the Brooklyn Museum’s exhibit of candids that McCartney took on a camera during the ‘64 U.S. visit, so Tedeschi was able to talk to the rock star and get a behind-the-scenes look at the show. McCartney has lots of stories to tell in his interview. He talks about writing “She Loves You” at his Liverpool home with Lennon, and his father arguing that the famous line “She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah” should be a more polite “she loves you yes, yes, yes.”
Source: Olivia B. Waxman/time.com
